Ivanti this week added a Neurons for App Control tool to its portfolio that prevents unauthorized applications from being allowed to run on an endpoint device.

In addition, the company updated its Neurons for Patch Management tool by enabling IT administrators to define the level of risk they are willing to accept when automatically updating software. Additionally, the tool will now automatically generate a compliance report that can be shared with auditors.

Finally, Ivanti is also making available an analytics application that enables ITSM teams to track key performance indicators (KPIs).

Corrina Fulton, vice president of solutions marketing for Ivanti, said, collectively these tools will provide IT service management (ITSM) teams with more control over which applications are allowed to run and then be updated. Neurons for App Control, for example, achieves that goal by enabling ITSM teams to enforce granular controls via a cloud application that analyzes the ownership of the files attached to an application running on an endpoint.

The overall goal is to make it simpler of ITSM teams to embrace a more holistic approach to exposure management, she added.

It’s not clear how much control over applications is now being exercised by ITSM teams, but as more responsibility for security operations (SecOps) is shifted to ITSM teams the need for tools designed for IT administrators is becoming more apparent, noted Fulton.

Ultimately, Ivanti is working toward enabling those teams to reduce the number of instances of shadow IT that are created when end users install their own applications, while giving ITSM more control over sanctioned applications. Of course, the degree to which organizations might allow ITSM teams to patch applications will naturally vary. However, there are plenty of instances where a known vulnerability that might be easily exploited can’t wait for a patch that remediates the issue to be approved by an application developer.

ITSM teams need tools that enable them to more proactively manage not just the endpoint, but also the software that is deployed if organizations expect to improve their overall cyber resiliency, said Fulton.

Unfortunately, there are simply not enough cybersecurity professionals available to, in addition to discovering and remediating threats, also be managing SecOps workflows. As a result, the amount of responsibility for SecOps being assigned to ITSM teams is naturally increasing.

Of course, there are many ITSM teams that for one reason or another are already short-handed, so the more automated SecOps workflows, the easier it will become to achieve that goal. Hopefully, as ITSM continues to evolve in the age of artificial intelligence (AI) there will soon be deeper convergence between SecOps and ITSM workflows.

In the meantime, ITSM teams should look to extend their skills into the realm of cybersecurity. After all, any time there is a cybersecurity issue, it’s only a matter of time before IT administrators will be asked to respond. In an ideal world, however, ITSM teams should have the ability to prevent the issue from ever arising in the first place.